The Complete Tarzan Collection, page 343
"You are right," agreed Smith. "Have you any belongings you wish to take with you?"
"Only what we wear," replied Lady Barbara.
"What is the easiest way out of the valley?" asked the man, on the chance that there might be another and nearer avenue of escape than the fissure through which he had come.
"We know of no way out," replied Jezebel.
"Then follow me," directed Smith. "I'll take you out the way I came in."
They made their way from the village and out onto the dark plain toward Chinnereth, nor did they speak again until they had gone some distance from the fires of the Midians and felt that they were safe from pursuit. It was then that Lafayette Smith asked a question prompted by natural curiosity.
"How can it be possible that you young ladies know of no way out of this valley?" he asked. "Why can't you go out the way you came in?"
"I could scarcely do that," replied Jezebel; "I was born here."
"Born here?" exclaimed Smith. "Then your parents must live in the valley. We can go to their home. Where is it?"
"We just came from it," explained Lady Barbara. "Jezebel was born in the village from which we have just escaped."
"And those beasts killed her parents?" demanded Lafayette. "You do not understand," said Lady Barbara. "Those people are her people."
Smith was dumbfounded. He almost ejaculated: "How horrible!" but stayed the impulse. "And you?" he asked presently. "Are they your people, too?" There was a note of horror in his voice.
"No," replied Lady Barbara. "I am English."
"And you don't know how you got into this valley?"
"Yes, I know—I came by parachute."
Smith halted and faced her. "You're Lady Barbara Collis!" he exclaimed.
"How did you know?" she asked. "Have you been searching for me?"
"No, but when I passed through London the papers were full of the story of your flight and your disappearance—pictures and things, you know."
"And you just stumbled onto me? What a coincidence! And how fortunate for me."
"To tell you the truth, I am lost myself," admitted Smith. "So possibly you are about as badly off as you were before."
"Scarcely," she said. "You have at least prevented my premature cremation."
"They were really going to burn you? It doesn't seem possible in this day and age of enlightenment and civilization."
"The Midians are two thousand years behind the times," she told him, "and in addition to that they are religious, as well as congenital, maniacs."
Smith glanced in the direction of Jezebel whom he could see plainly in the light of a full moon that had but just topped the eastern rim of the crater. Perhaps Lady Barbara sensed the unspoken question that disturbed him.
"Jezebel is different," she said. "I cannot explain why, but she is not at all like her people. She tells me that occasionally one such as she is born among them."
"But she speaks English," said Smith. "She cannot be of the same blood as the people I saw in the village, whose language is certainly not the same as hers, to say nothing of the dissimilarity of their physical appearance."
"I taught her English," explained Lady Barbara.
"She wants to go away and leave her parents and her people?" asked Smith.
"Of course I do," said Jezebel. "Why should I want to stay here and be murdered? My father, my mother, my brothers and sisters were in that crowd you saw about the crosses tonight. They hate me. They have hated me from the day I was born, because I am not like them. But then there is no love in the land of Midian—only religion, which preaches love and practices hate."
Smith fell silent as the three plodded on over the rough ground down toward the shore of Chinnereth. He was considering the responsibility that Fate had loaded upon his shoulders so unexpectedly and wondering if he were equal to the emergency, who, as he was becoming to realize, could scarcely be sure of his ability to insure his own existence in this savage and unfamiliar world.
Keenly the realization smote him that in almost thirty hours that he had been thrown exclusively upon his own resources he had discovered not a single opportunity to provide food for himself, the result of which was becoming increasingly apparent in a noticeable loss of strength and endurance. What then might he hope to accomplish with two additional mouths to feed?
And what if they encountered either savage beasts or unfriendly natives? Lafayette Smith shuddered. "I hope they can run fast," he murmured.
"Who?" asked Lady Barbara. "What do you mean?"
"Oh," stammered Lafayette. "I—I did not know that I spoke aloud." How could he tell her that he had lost confidence even in his .32? He could not. Never before in his life had he felt so utterly incompetent. His futility seemed to him to border on criminality. At any rate it was dishonorable, since it was deceiving these young women who had a right to expect guidance and protection from him.
He was very bitter toward himself; but that, perhaps, was due partly to the nervous reaction following the rather horrible experience at the village and physical weakness that was bordering on exhaustion. He was excoriating himself for having dismissed Obambi, which act, he realized, was at the bottom of all his troubles; and then he recalled that had it not been for that there would have been no one to save these two girls from the horrible fate from which he had preserved them. This thought somewhat restored his self-esteem, for he could not escape the fact that he had, after all, saved them.
Jezebel, the circulation restored to her feet, had been walking without assistance for some time. The three had lapsed into a long silence, each occupied with his own thoughts, as Smith led the way in search of the opening into the fissure.
A full African moon lighted their way, its friendly beams lessening the difficulties of the night march. Chinnereth lay upon their right, a vision of loveliness in the moonlight, while all about them the grim mass of the crater walls seemed to have closed in upon them and to hang menacingly above their heads, for night and moonlight play strange tricks with perspective.
It was shortly after midnight that Smith first stumbled and fell. He arose quickly, berating his awkwardness; but as he proceeded, Jezebel, who was directly behind him, noticed that he walked unsteadily, stumbling more and more often. Presently he fell again, and this time it was apparent to both girls that it was only with considerable effort that he arose. The third time he fell they both helped him to his feet.
"I'm terribly clumsy," he said. He was swaying slightly as she stood between them.
Lady Barbara observed him closely. "You are exhausted," she said.
"Oh, no," insisted Smith. "I'm all right."
"When did you eat last?" demandd thee girl.
"I had some chocolate with me," replied Smith. "I ate the last of it this afternoon sometime."
"When did you eat a meal, I mean?" persisted Lady Barbara.
"Well," he admitted, "I had a light lunch yesterday noon, or rather day before yesterday. It must be after midnight now."
"And you have been walking all the time since?"
"Oh, I ran part of the time," he replied, with a weak laugh. "That was when the lion chased me. And I slept in the afternoon before I came to the village."
"We are going to stop right here until you are rested" announced the English girl.
"Oh, no," he demurred, "we mustn't do that. I want to get you out of this valley before daylight, as they will probably pursue us as soon as the sun comes up."
"I don't think so," said Jezebel. "They are too much afraid of the North Midians to come this far from the village; and, anyway, we have such a start that we can reach the cliffs, where you say the fissure is, before they could overtake us."
"You must rest," insisted Lady Barbara.
Reluctantly Lafayette sat down. "I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help to you," he said. "You see I am not really familiar with Africa, and I fear that I am not adequately armed for your protection. I wish Danny were here."
"Who is Danny?" asked Lady Barbara.
"He's a friend who accompanied me on this trip."
"He's had African experience?"
"No," admitted Lafayette, "but one always feels safe with Danny about. He seems so familiar with firearms. You see he is a protection guy."
"What is a protection guy?" asked Lady Barbara.
"To be quite candid," replied Lafayette, "I am not at all sure that I know myself what it is. Danny is not exactly garrulous about his past; and I have hesitated to pry into his private affairs, but he did volunteer the information one day that he had been a protection guy for a big shot. It sounded reassuring."
"What is a big shot?" inquired Jezebel.
"Perhaps a big game hunter," suggested Lady Barbara. "No," said Lafayette. "I gather from Danny's remarks that a big shot is a rich brewer or distiller who also assists in directing the affairs of a large city. It may be just another name for political boss."
"Of course," said Lady Barbara, "it would be nice if your friend were here; but he is not, so suppose you tell us something about yourself. Do you realize that we do not even know your name?"
Smith laughed. "That's about all there is to know about me," he said. "It's Lafayette Smith, and now will you introduce me to this other young lady? I already know who you are."
"Oh, this is Jezebel," said Lady Barbara.
There was a moment's silence. "Is that all?" asked Smith. Lady Barbara laughed. "Just Jezebel," she said. "If we ever get out of here we'll have to find a surname for her. They don't use 'em in the land of Midian."
Smith lay on his back looking up at the moon. Already he was commencing to feel the beneficial effects of relaxation and rest. His thoughts were toying with the events of the past thirty hours. What an adventure for a prosaic professor of geology, he thought. He had never been particularly interested in girls, although he was far from being a misogynist, and to find himself thus thrown into the intimate relationship of protector to two beautiful young women was somewhat disconcerting. And the moon had revealed that they were beautiful. Perhaps the sun might have a different story to tell. He had heard of such things and he wondered. But sunlight could not alter the cool, crisp, well bred voice of Lady Barbara Collis. He liked to hear her talk. He had always enjoyed the accent and diction of cultured English folk.
He tried to think of something to ask her that he might listen to her voice again. That raised the question of just how he should address her. His contacts with nobility had been few—in fact almost restricted to a single Russian prince who had been a door man at a restaurant he sometimes patronized, and he had never heard him addressed otherwise than as Mike. He thought Lady Barbara would be the correct formula, though that smacked a little of familiarity. Lady Collis seemed, somehow, even less appropriate. He wished he were sure. Mike would never do. Jezebel. What an archaic name! And then he fell asleep.
Lady Barbara looked down at him and raised a warning finger to her lips lest Jezebel awaken him. Then she rose and walked away a short distance, beckoning the golden one to follow.
"He is about done up," she whispered, as they seated themselves again. "Poor chap, he has had a rough time of it. Imagine being chased by a lion with only that little popgun with which to defend oneself."
"Is he from your country?" asked Jezebel.
"No, he's an American. I can tell by his accent."
"He is very beautiful," said Jezebel, with a sigh.
"After looking at Abraham, the son of Abraham, and Jobab, for all these weeks I could agree with you if you insisted that St. Ghandi is an Adonis," replied Lady Barbara.
"I do not know what you mean," said Jezebel; "but do you not think him beautiful?"
"I am less interested in his pulchritude than in his marksmanship, and that is positively beastly. He's got sand though, my word! no end. He walked right into that village and took us out from under the noses of hundreds of people with nothing but his little peashooter for protection. That, Jezebel, was top hole."
The golden Jezebel sighed. "He is much more beautiful than the men of the land of North Midian," she said.
Lady Barbara looked at her companion for a long minute; then she sighed. "If I ever get you to civilization," she said, "I'm afraid you are going to prove something of a problem." Wherewith she stretched herself upon the ground and was soon asleep, for she, too, had had a strenuous day.
15. ESHBAAL, THE SHEPHERD
The sun shining on his upturned face awakened Lafayette Smith. At first he had difficulty in collecting his thoughts.
The events of the previous night appeared as a dream, but when he sat up and discovered the figures of the sleeping girls a short distance from him his mind was jerked rudely back into the world of realities. His heart sank. How was he to acquit himself creditably of such a responsibility? Frankly, he did not know.
He had no doubt but that he could find the fissure and lead his charges to the outer world, but how much better off would they be then? He had no idea now, and he realized that he never had, where his camp lay. Then there was the possibility of meeting the lion again in the fissure, and if they did not there was still the question of sustenance. What were they going to use for food, and how were they going to get it?
The thought of food awoke a gnawing hunger within him. He arose and walked to the shore of the lake where he lay on his belly and filled himself with water. When he stood up the girls were sitting up looking at him.
"Good morning," he greeted them. "I was just having breakfast. Will you join me?"
They returned his salutation as they arose and came toward him. Lady Barbara was smiling. "Thank the lord, you have a sense of humor," she said. "I think we are going to need a lot of it before we get out of this."
"I would much prefer ham and eggs," he replied ruefully.
"Now I know you're an American," she said.
"I suppose you are thinking of tea and marmalade," he rejoined.
"I am trying not to think of food at all," she replied.
"Have some lake," he suggested. "You have no idea how satisfying it is if you take enough of it."
After the girls had drunk the three set off again, led by Smith, in search of the opening to the fissure. "I know just where it is," he had assured them the night before, and even now he thought that he would have little difficulty in finding it, but when they approached the base of the cliff at the point where he had expected to find it it was not there.
Along the foot of the beetling escarpment he searched, almost frantically now, but there was no sign of the opening through which he had crawled into the valley of the land of Midian. Finally, crushed, he faced Lady Barbara. "I cannot find it," he admitted, and there was a quality of hopelessness in his voice that touched her.
"Never mind," she said. "It must be somewhere. We shall just have to keep searching until we find it."
"But it's so hard on you young ladies," he said. "It must be a bitter disappointment to you. You don't know how it makes me feel to realize that, with no one to depend on but me, I have failed you so miserably."
"Don't take it that way, please," she begged. "Anyone might have lost his bearings in this hole. These cliffs scarcely change their appearance in miles."
"It's kind of you to say that, but I cannot help but feel guilty. Yet I know the opening cannot be far from here. I came in on the west side of the valley, and that is where we are now. Yes, I am sure I must find it eventually; but there is no need for all of us to search. You and Jezebel sit down here and wait while I look for it."
"I think we should remain together," suggested Jezebel.
"By all means," agreed Lady Barbara.
"As you wish," said Smith. "We will search toward the north as far as it is possible that the opening can lie. If we don't find it we can come back here and search toward the south."
As they moved along the base of the cliff in a northerly direction Smith became more and more convinced that he was about to discover the entrance to the fissure. He thought that he discerned something familiar in the outlook across the valley from this location, but still no opening revealed itself after they had gone a considerable distance.
Presently, as they climbed the rise and gained the summit of one of the numerous low ridges that ran, buttress-like, from the face of the cliff down into the valley, he halted in discouragement.
"What is it?" asked Jezebel.
"That forest," he replied. "There was no forest in sight of the opening."
Before them spread an open forest of small trees that grew almost to the foot of the cliffs and stretched downward to the shore of the lake, forming a landscape of exceptional beauty in its park- like aspect. But Lafayette Smith saw no beauty there—he saw only another proof of his inefficiency and ignorance.
"You came through no forest on your way from the cliffs to the village?" demanded Lady Barbara.
He shook his head. "We've got to walk all the way back now," he said, "and search in the other direction. It is most disheartening. I wonder if you can forgive me."
"Don't be silly," said Lady Barbara. "One might think that you were a Cook's Tour courier who had got lost during a personally conducted tour of the art galleries of Paris and expected to lose his job in consequence."
"I feel worse than that," Smith admitted with a laugh, "and I imagine that's saying a lot."
"Look!" exclaimed Lady Barbara. "There are animals of some sort down there in the forest. Don't you see them?"
"Oh, yes," cried Jezebel, "I see them."
"What are they?" asked Smith. "They look like deer."
"They are goats," said Jezebel. "The North Midians have goats. They roam over this end of the valley."
"They look like something to eat, to me," said Lady Barbara. "Let's go down and get one of them."
"They will probably not let us catch them," suggested Lafayette.
"You've a pistol," the English girl reminded him.
"That's a fact," he agreed. "I can shoot one."
"Maybe," qualified Lady Barbara.
"I'd better go down alone," said Smith. "Three of us together might frighten them."
